A system and method for training a user to swing a racket

ABSTRACT

A system and method for resiliently binding a user&#39;s arms to one another to allow the user to swing a paddle while preventing excessive backswing. The system is attached by a first cuff to the wrist of a user&#39;s paddle hand and by a second cuff to the user&#39;s opposing bicep. The two cuffs are connected using a resilient band long enough to allow the user to freely strike a ball with a paddle using either a backhand or forehand stroke. The band is short enough to provide resistance if the user attempts to execute a long backswing on a forehand stroke. If the user tries to move the paddle too far rearward the resilient band provides resistance to continued movement. The system provides constant feedback to avoid long forehand backswings, while allowing backhand strokes and forehand strokes with short backswings.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to a system and method for training a user to correctly swing a racket and, in particular, to a system and method for binding a user's arms to one another to prevent excessive backswing when training with a racket.

BACKGROUND

Pickleball has recently exploded in popularity, with millions of people playing the game around the world. The rackets pickleball players use are solid paddles they use to hit a perforated polymer ball over a net. While pickleball has similarities with other racket-based games, in pickleball it is often desirable to strike the ball with a forehand stroke that starts with a short backswing and remains close to the body. This type of short backswing forehand stroke can be difficult for new players to learn, especially for new players who have developed a longer backswing muscle memory from playing other sports.

One method for reducing backswing when learning pickleball is to slowly repeat a short backswing forehand stroke over and over again to develop muscle memory. One drawback with this learning technique is that it does not replicate the speed and ball feedback from an actual short backswing forehand stroke used during a game.

Another method for reducing backswing when learning pickleball is to repeat a forehand stroke while standing slightly in front of a wall. The wall prevents the player from taking a backswing that is too long. Not only does this technique not allow the player to move forward while practicing the swing, as they would do in a game of pickleball, but this technique also does not replicate the speed and ball feedback from an actual short backswing forehand stroke used during a game.

Another area of Pickeball training involves the “ready” position. This position involves the player bending their knees and holding the paddle in front of them pointed either straight ahead or parallel to their body. When learning the game of pickleball many players will hold their paddle too far out in front of their body and/or below their waist. While it is helpful to remind players to maintain the proper ready position, it is easy for new players to forget.

It would therefore be desirable to provide a system and method for training a user to correctly develop a short backswing forehand stroke in a manner that allows a user to move forward while striking a ball, reminds players to keep the paddle above their waist when in the ready position, provides realistic feedback from a struck ball, and that may be used while actually playing a game of pickleball.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED SUBJECT MATTER

The deficiencies described above are overcome by the disclosed implementation of a system and method for training a user to correctly swing a racket, such as a pickleball paddle. The system uses a resilient racket training device that attaches between a user's dominant wrist and the user's nondominant upper arm. The method employs securing a first cuff to the user's dominant wrist, securing a second cuff to the user's nondominant upper arm, and securing the two cuffs to one another with a resilient cord. The cord is of a length sufficient to allow the user to grasp a racket with their dominant hand and start a short backswing before the resilient band provides resilient resistance to additional backswing movement and to movement of the paddle below the waist when in the ready position.

Other implementations of systems and methods for training a user to correctly swing a racket include using a supplemental resilient cord that attaches between the user's dominant upper arm and the user's nondominant upper arm, as well as using a single resilient cord that attaches from the user's dominant wrist to the user's nondominant upper arm and then to the user's dominant upper arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates perspective view of a user wearing the paddle training device while preparing to perform a forehand swing with a paddle to strike a ball in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the paddle training device in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the wrist cuff, resilient band and band attachment system of the paddle training device in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a illustrates perspective view of a user wearing the paddle training device while following through after performing a forehand swing with a paddle to strike a ball in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates perspective view of a user wearing the paddle training device while preparing to perform a backhand swing with a paddle to strike a ball in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the paddle training device with an adjustable band in accordance with an alternative embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the paddle training device with a supplemental band in accordance with an alternative embodiment; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a user wearing an alternative embodiment of the paddle training device with a supplemental band while performing a backhand swing with a paddle to strike a ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The system and method of the present invention train a pickleball player to develop muscle memory to avoid long forearm backswings, keep their elbows close to their body, and prevent the paddle from moving too far down or forward when in the ready position when playing pickleball. The system and method described below is distinguished over earlier systems in that the present system and method are lightweight, inexpensive, and allow the player to play a game of pickleball while using the system. The use of resilient bands provides real-time in-game feedback to the player without impeding correct form. One embodiment of the present system and method uses releasable adjustable cuffs secured to a player's wrist and opposing bicep and coupled to one another by a resilient band. The system may be quickly switched from one player to the next. The length of the resilient band may be adjusted to accommodate players with longer arms and/or torsos. Another embodiment of the present system and method uses a supplemental resilient cord attached between the bicep cuff and a bicep cuff on the user's paddle arm to train the user to keep both elbows close to the user's body during play.

One embodiment of the present system is shown generally as 10 in FIG. 1 attached to a player 12. As shown in FIG. 2 , the system 10 is provided with a first cuff 14 and a second cuff 16 coupled to one another by a band 18. The band 18 is a bungie cord, but may be any suitable resilient or nonresilient material.

While the first cuff 14 and the second cuff 16 may be any type of fastener configured to secure to a player's wrist 26 and bicep 42, the first cuff 14 is preferably a wrist cuff and the second cuff 16 is preferably a bicep cuff. The first cuff 14 is narrower, with a smaller circumference, than the second cuff 16. While both the first cuff 14 and second cuff 16 are adjustable, the second cuff 16 is wider and adjusts to a larger circumference than a circumference to which the first cuff 14 is capable of adjusting.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first cuff 14 is a strip of webbing material 20, provided with hook material 22 on one end of one side and latch material 24 on the other side. The hook material 22 and latch material 24 are secured to the first cuff 14 and configured in a manner known in the art to allow the player 12 to wrap the first cuff 14 around their wrist 26 and securely fasten the first cuff 14 by a hook-and-latch connection 28. FIGS. 1-3 . A “D”-ring 30 is secured to the first cuff 14 by a small piece of webbing 32 sewn to the first cuff 14. A carabiner 34, or similar releasable connector such as those known in the art, is secured to one end of the band 18 and releasably secured to the D-ring 30.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2 , the second cuff 16 is a wider strip of webbing material 36, provided with hook material 38 on one end of one side and latch material 40 on the other side. The player 12 wraps the webbing material 36 around the bicep 42 of the arm 44 opposite the arm 46 around which the first cuff 14 is secured. The hook material 38 and latch material 40 are secured to the second cuff 16 and configured in a manner known in the art to allow the player 12 to secure the second cuff 16 around the bicep 42 with a hook-and-latch connection 48 in a manner such as that described above.

A second D-ring 50 is secured to the second cuff 16 by a small piece of webbing 52 sewn to the second cuff 16. A second carabiner 54 is secured to the opposite end of the band 18 and releasably secured to the D-ring 50. The length of the portion 56 of the band 18 that extends between the first carabiner 34 and the second carabiner 54 is of a predetermined length sized to accommodate the particular player 12. The length of the portion 56 of the band 18 is long enough to allow the player 12 to execute a short forehand backswing, but short enough to stretch and provide resistance to the player 12 attempting to execute a longer forehand backswing. Stronger and/or additional bands may be used to provide more resistance if desired.

When it is desired to use the system 10 of the present invention to train the player 12 to execute proper paddle forehand swing technique, the player 12 secures the first cuff 14 to their wrist and the second cuff 16 to their opposite bicep as described above. As shown in FIG. 1 , as the player 12 draws a racket, such as a paddle 58, in a rearward motion past their hip 60 in preparation for execution of a forehand stroke, the band 18 begins to provide resistance to further rearward motion. The resistance serves as a sensory reminder to the player 12 to cease any additional rearward motion. If the player 12 continues to draw the paddle 58 rearward the resistance of the band 18 increases until the player 12 is no longer able to draw the paddle 58 rearward. The band 18 motivates the player's wrist 26 forward until the wrist 26 reaches the predetermined maximum desired rearward distance for a forehand swing. Thereafter, the band 18 provides little or no resistance to the player 12 moving the wrist 26 forward and finishing the forehand stroke. FIGS. 1-4 . Similarly, as the player 12 moves their wrist 26 too far laterally away from their hip 60, during the forehand stroke the band 18 provides increasing resistance to further lateral motion until the player 12 moves the wrist 26 back within the predetermined maximum desired lateral distance for a forehand swing. The maximum desired rearward distance for a forehand swing and the predetermined maximum desired lateral distance for a forehand swing may be adjusted by changing the length and/or resistance of the band 18. The length and/or resistance of the band 18 may be adjusted depending on whether the player 12 is training in a “ready” position, to make sure the paddle 58 is not too far in front of the player 12 or below the player's waist, or in a “volley” position, to make sure the player 12 is not drawing too deep of a backswing on forehand shots. For smaller players 12, the band 18 may be short and resilient, whereas the band 18 for larger players 12 may be longer and provide more resilient resistance than the band used for smaller players. As show in FIG. 5 , the system 10 does not impede a player 12 during either the rearward or forward motion of a backhand swing of the paddle 58.

In an alternative embodiment, the length of a band 62 may be adjustable. FIG. 6 . Instead of the band 62 being a fixed length, a longer band 62 may be secured to a second cuff 64 by passing the band 62 through a heavy-duty ellipse cord lock 66, such as those known in the art, provided through the second cuff 64, provided through the heavy-duty ellipse cord lock 66 again, and tied with a knot 68 to prevent the band from passing back through the heavy-duty ellipse cord lock 66. Alternatively, the band 62 may be simply provided through the second cuff 64 and tied with a knot 68 at the desired length.

In another alternative embodiment, the second carabiner 54 may be of an adjustable type (not shown) such as The Great Bungie Cord, part number BB-SM manufactured by Batten Industries of 2455 Dollarton Hwy, N. Vancouver, V7H 0A2, Canada. This allows the player 12 to adjust the length of the portion 56 of the band 18 that extends between the first carabiner 34 and the second carabiner 54 to any desired length.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7-8 , which shows a system 70 of the present invention designed to add additional motivation during training for a player 72 to maintain proper form by maintaining their elbow 74 close to their hip 76. As shown in FIG. 7 , the system 70 is provided with a first cuff 78 and a second cuff 80 coupled to one another by a band 82 in a manner similar to that described above. In addition, a supplemental band 84 is provided on one end with a first carabiner 86 coupled to a first D-ring 88 on the second cuff 80 and is provided on the other end with a second carabiner 90 coupled to a second D-ring 92 on a third cuff 94 secured around the opposite bicep 96 of the player 72 in a manner such as that described above. The third cuff 94 is similar to the second cuff 80 in construction. The supplemental band 84 is of a predetermined length shorter than the length of the band 82. The predetermined length of the supplemental band may be adjustable, as described above, but the predetermined length is preferably sufficiently long to allow the player 72 a free range of movement when using proper form to execute forehand and backhand strokes, but sufficiently short to prevent the player 72 from moving the player's elbow 74 undesirably far from the player's hip 76 during play.

As shown in FIGS. 7-8 when the player 72 begins to move their elbow 74 too far from their hip 76 during either a backhand or forehand stroke, the supplemental band 84 provides increasing resistance to further undesired motion of the elbow 74 away from the hip 76 until the player 72 moves the elbow 74 back within the predetermined maximum desired lateral distance for a forehand swing. The maximum desired lateral distance for the elbow 74 from the hip 76 may be adjusted by changing the length and/or resistance of the supplemental band 84. As noted in the above embodiment, for smaller players 12, the supplemental band 84 may be short and resilient, whereas the supplemental band 84 for larger players 12 may be longer and provide more resilient resistance than the band used for smaller players. As shown in FIG. 8 , as long as a player 72 maintains proper form, the supplemental band 84 does not impede the player 72 executing either forehand or backhand swings.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be so limited since changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the full, intended scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for training a user to swing a racket, the method comprising: a) providing a band having a first end and a second end; b) placing a racket in a hand associated with a first arm of the user; c) securing the first end of the band to an upper arm of a second arm of the user; d) securing the second end of the band to a wrist of the first arm of the user; e) drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resistance to additional rearward motion; and f) moving the racket forward into contact with a ball.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the band is nonresilient.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the band is resilient.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resistance to additional rearward motion comprises drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resilient resistance to additional rearward motion.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising a) providing a supplemental band having a first end and a second end; b) securing the first end of the supplemental band to the upper arm of the second arm of the user; c) securing the second end of the supplemental band to an upper arm of the first arm of the user; and d) wherein drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resistance to additional rearward motion comprises drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the supplemental band to provide resistance to additional rearward motion.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the supplemental band is nonresilient.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the supplemental band is resilient.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the band and the supplemental band are portions of a single longer band.
 9. A method for training a user to swing a racket, the method comprising: a) providing a racket training device comprising: an upper arm fastener; a wrist fastener; a resilient band having a first end and a second end; wherein the first end of the resilient band is secured to the upper arm fastener; and wherein the second end of the resilient band is secured to the wrist fastener; b) placing a racket in a hand associated with a first arm of the user; c) securing the upper arm fastener to an upper arm of a second arm of the user; d) securing the wrist fastener to a wrist of the first arm of the user; e) drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the resilient band to provide resilient resistance to additional rearward motion; and f) moving the racket forward into contact with a ball.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein: a) the wrist fastener is a wrist cuff provided with a first circumference; b) the upper arm fastener is an arm cuff provided with a second circumference; c) the second circumference is greater than the first circumference; d) wherein the wrist cuff has at least a portion along the first circumference that is at least four centimeters wide; and e) wherein the arm cuff has at least a portion along the second circumference that is at least four centimeters wide.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: a) providing a circumference lock; b) unlocking the circumference lock; c) adjusting a circumference of the wrist fastener from a first orientation having a first circumference to a second orientation having a second circumference to accommodate the wrist; and d) using the circumference lock to lock the wrist fastener in the second orientation.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising: a) providing a supplemental racket training device comprising: a first supplemental upper arm fastener; a second supplemental upper arm fastener; a supplemental resilient band having a first end and a second end; wherein the first end of the supplemental resilient band is secured to the first supplemental upper arm fastener; and wherein the second end of the supplemental resilient band is secured to the second supplemental upper arm fastener; b) securing the first supplemental upper arm fastener to an upper arm of the second arm of the user; c) securing the second supplemental upper arm fastener to the upper arm of the first arm of the user; and d) wherein drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the resilient band to provide resilient resistance to additional rearward motion comprises drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the supplemental resilient band to provide resilient resistance to additional rearward motion.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the band and the supplemental band are portions of a single longer band.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein: a) the wrist fastener is provided with a first circumference; b) the upper arm fastener is provided with a second circumference; and c) the first supplemental upper arm fastener is provided with a third circumference; d) the second supplemental upper arm fastener is provided with a fourth circumference; and e) the second circumference, the third circumference, and the fourth circumference are all greater than the first circumference.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: a) providing a circumference lock; b) unlocking the circumference lock; c) adjusting a circumference of the wrist fastener from a first orientation having a first circumference to a second orientation having a second circumference to accommodate the wrist; d) wherein the first circumference is smaller than the second circumference; and e) using the circumference lock to lock the wrist fastener in the second orientation.
 16. A method for training a user to swing a racket, the method comprising: a) providing a band having a first end, a middle, and a second end; b) placing a racket in a hand associated with a first arm of the user; c) securing the second end of the band to a wrist of the first arm of the user; d) securing the middle of the band to an upper arm of a second arm of the user; e) securing the second end of the band to an upper arm of the first arm of the user; f) drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resistance to additional rearward motion; and g) moving the racket forward into contact with a ball.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the band is nonresilient.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the band is resilient.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resistance to additional rearward motion comprises drawing the racket in a rearward motion sufficiently to cause the band to provide resilient resistance to additional rearward motion.
 20. The method of claim 16, further comprising: a) providing a first upper arm fastener; b) providing a second upper arm fastener; c) providing a wrist fastener; d) securing the wrist fastener to the wrist of the first arm of the user; e) securing the first upper arm fastener to the upper arm of the second arm of the user; f) securing the second upper arm fastener to the upper arm of the first arm of the user; g) wherein securing the second end of the band to the wrist of the first arm of the user comprises securing the second end of the band to the wrist fastener; h) wherein securing the middle of the band to the upper arm of the second arm of the user comprises securing the middle of the band to the first upper arm fastener; and i) wherein securing the first end of the band to the upper arm of the first arm of the user comprises securing the first end of the band to the second upper arm fastener. 